The claim is for reduced risk of atopic dermatitis.
Gerber’s Good Start milk-based infant formula has garnered FDA’s first qualified health claim in infant nutrition, for reduced risk of atopic dermatitis, the company announced. The company says the formula is the “first and only routine infant formulas made with 100% whey protein that has been partially hydrolyzed.”
“For healthy infants who are not exclusively breastfed and who have a family history of allergy, feeding a 100% whey protein partially hydrolyzed infant formula from birth up to 4 months of age instead of a formula containing intact cow’s milk proteins may reduce the risk of developing atopic dermatitis throughout the first year of life,” the agency stated.
However, FDA added the following qualifying language to the claim: “FDA has concluded that the relationship between 100% whey protein partially hydrolyzed infant formulas and the reduced risk of atopic dermatitis is uncertain, because there is little scientific evidence for the relationship.”
The product is recommended for routine use in healthy infants but is not recommended for treating children with allergies.